Loving Day celebration set June 12 in Lewes

For the second time in history, Delaware will celebrate Loving Day, in recognition of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that made interracial marriage legal.

Thanks to the efforts of Lewes resident Dave Shook and legislative sponsorship by Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, the Delaware Senate passed a resolution recognizing Loving Day in Delaware. A celebration will be held, rain or shine, at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 12, in CanalFront Park in Lewes, near the new children’s playground. The event is free, and children are welcome.

The celebration will begin with a reading of the Senate Resolution, but the main purpose of the event is to celebrate the day and provide an opportunity for children to enjoy the company of other children, playing on the beautiful new playground in an atmosphere of love, unity and inclusion. Attendees may bring chairs, blankets and a picnic dinner if desired.

Loving Day is named for Richard and Mildred Loving, who were the plaintiffs in the historic Supreme Court case. In Virginia in 1958, they were arrested and sentenced to prison for being in an interracial marriage. In those days, laws varied state to state. Then, June 12, 1967, the court struck down all state laws forbidding interracial marriage in the U.S. Delaware was one of the last eleven states to decriminalize interracial marriage and did so as a direct result of this decision.

Loving Day was established 21 years ago to celebrate the landmark ruling. Delaware was not among the states that embraced the idea. That changed last year when Shook suggested the idea to Huxtable who, along with several other legislators, sponsored a resolution to designate June 12, 2024 as Loving Day in Delaware.

To learn more, go to lovingday.org.